Real American-style barbecue is the ambitious specialty at Bashamichi Taproom, along with a great selection of craft beers. Taproom's BBQ menu features spareribs, "Fat-boy" ribs, chicken, brisket and pork shoulder, prepared using Australian grass-fed beef, American pork, and domestic pork and chicken.

We enjoyed them all, but the ribs were by far our favorites, especially the Fat-boy ribs. They're sold by weight, and we were given a choice of a few different sizes with various levels of marbling. The end product was just fantastic - smoky, juicy and very richly flavored.

Meats other than the ribs are all served "dry" (with a rub of spices), the better to savor their natural meaty flavors, but there are also three home-made sauces with which to liven things up. Tasty side dishes - cole slaw, Texas beans, potato salad, mac and cheese - are also very well made and based on Southern BBQ-joint recipes. Salads and hand-made pizzas round out the food menu, along with pecan pie and peach cobbler for dessert.

Drinks include more than twenty craft beers on tap - mostly from the excellent Baird Brewery in Numazu, but with a couple of guest taps dispensing well-chosen American microbrews.

The setting is a charming three-story building with a roof garden on top and a comfortable bar area on the ground floor. The second floor is furnished with a dartboard and a big-screen tv, and often hosts performances of live music. Open noon-midnight on weekends.